“It has been an honor to work for an elected board that was always motivated by one thing: What’s the right thing to do? What’s the right thing to do for the folks of this township, the residents, and the taxpayers, and the businesses of this township?” Perrone said.

Originally hired by Upper Gwynedd commissioners in September 1989, Perrone had previously served 10 years as Hatfield borough’s first manager, with prior time as an assistant manager in Lansdale borough, according to The Reporter archives. After earning a bachelor’s degree in government management from University of South Carolina and a master’s in public administration from American University, Perrone said he has never regretted his decision to work at the local government level.

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“I chose local, because I wanted to feel, and touch, and see, but particularly feel, the things that I was going to do,” Perrone said.

“I look back on the last 28 years here, and my years in Hatfield and Lansdale, and I say ‘Man, has it felt good.”

“I know that he has big shoes to fill, but I have no doubt that he will do so quite quickly,” Kroberger said.

“The township is in good hands, Mike,” Perrone added.

All five commissioners shared stories of their encounters with Perrone over their terms in office, and how the manager helped them get a grasp on their responsibilities, and opportunities, serving the public.

“One person was my human Rolodex, my human glossary, my human dictionary, and my professor of the township. For you young kids, that means a human Siri or a human Google,” said commissioner Steve Sands.

“Len, there was not a single time that I called you with a question that you didn’t offer your experience, your wisdom, your perspective,” he said.

Commissioner Clare Edelmayer, who was attending her last meeting after not winning re-election in November, said she and Perrone spent so much time together they have felt like family over the past 25 years.

“Len, at every meeting, always has the right answer. He just knows municipal government, and laws and regulations, and you would have advice like ‘Don’t do this,’ or ‘Think about this, because there may be something else,’” she said.

“We corrected problems that existed for decades, and in some cases maybe a hundred years. The Sumneytown Pike bridge needed to be rebuilt at the turn of the 20th century — it was originally built for horses and wagons and buggies, and we replaced it,” he said.

“It was long, it was detailed, but with all of your help, we were able to get it done and get it funded. I wish you the best of luck in retirement: you worked hard for it, you deserve it, I just hope you learn how to putt,” Duffy joked.

State Rep. Kate Harper presented a letter on behalf of the Pennsylvania Legislature thanking Perrone for his decades of service.

“Len has managed highway and bridge projects as the community grew, developed the township’s parks and recreation facilities to accommodate the community’s needs, and accomplished these, and many other tasks, all while retaining a fiscally responsible township,” she said.

Kroberger recalled the township’s 100th anniversary festivities in 1991, construction of the township’s administration building and the adjacent playground projects, all done with input from the community and sponsorships from businesses that Perrone helped build, cultivate and manage.

“You are the driving force to basically massage all of that activity: to get people together, and be able to iron out all of the issues we have to deal with, and there’s a lot,” Kroberger said.

“The residents are our customers, and our job is to do what is necessary to satisfy them, and make their life as good as possible, and always try to do it at a cost that’s in line with what our tax base should be,” he said.

Perrone said he first began thinking about calling it a career over a year ago, and said the “40 years is a long time to do anything,” and he hoped to find ways to teach students and aspiring managers about local government.

“Local government is fundamentally, on an everyday basis, the most important level of government, because it affects people’s lives every day. We plow the roads, we repair the roads, we provide the parks and rec(reation), we provide the police,” Perrone said.

“I think that education in local government is woefully lacking in our high schools, and I’d like to maybe play some role in correcting that,” he said.